Ristorante Don Giovanni — Restaurant in Positano

Where to start? Well, I'd say - Tourist Trap! Run for the hills!

One star is fair, I guess - for the view. The service, food, and atmosphere ranged from God awful to middling (the atmosphere was ok, I guess - other than the crooning guitarist who was not only much too loud but also perpetually out of tune. A table of musicians does not appreciate this).

I had my reservations about eating in Positano in general- the whole town screams tourist trap to me - but I decided that we would regret not giving it a go, so I found the restaurant with the best reviews and took a chance. Good lord, the regret I felt upon arriving! The reservation I had made over the phone was notated incorrectly (wrong number of people) and even though they had several tables available, they decided to make a big deal out of something that was not my problem. Both my name and the number of people were incorrect. The service was unhelpful at first, borderline aggressive and abysmal by the end. I simply do not understand whether we visited a totally different restaurant to the other reviewers, because it was completely and utterly disappointing in every way.

There were moments where I was hopeful - the olive oil and bread were quite tasty, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that the sea bream cannoli was actually delicious. It had better be though, as you pay €28 for three tiny bites. Fine dining portions, which is absolutely no problem if there is also fine dining quality. The octopus starter was ok- just ok. It was lightly grilled, missing the necessary char, and a little on the chewy side. Paired with a strange, foamy concoction which they call "hummus" and which mysteriously has milk products in it. Not like any hummus I've ever tried, or cared to try.

Now for the disaster. Three mains came out. Firstly, a pork belly that lacked any structural integrity whatsoever- it tasted fine, but it was basically a gigantic block of pork fat. Now, I'm a glutton and I enjoy eating animal fat, but one of my party could not even eat it. I completely understand why. When one orders pork, one expects some meat, not some wobbling monstrosity coated in glaze.

The tortellini in "dashi" (I loathe to use that term - as an Asian person, I have an expectation of what dashi tastes like and this certainly was not it) was massively disappointing. 4 pieces of badly cooked pasta, filled with basically cream cheese and bit of prawn, with a sauce with about as much oomph as Queen Elizabeth II (perhaps even QE I). To top it off, two extremely odd bright green biscuits in the shapes of leaves. Sweet, gross, and utterly unsuited to this dish. Four pieces of bad pasta for €28.

The mess continued with the catch of the day. Supposedly fresh bass, drowned in a sauce that looked and tasted like olive oil with a teaspoon of ketchup whisked through it. Smothered in cherry tomatoes. It looked like something I would cook after drinking a few bottles of wine, and it tasted worse. Why, if the fish is so fresh, does it need to be suffocated in an awful, oily sauce? We left a lot of it behind, and I felt a profound sadness knowing that a fish had to die to create that monstrosity. Oh well, at least it was only €42... To add insult to injury, an unseasoned side salad with unwieldy strips of veg, impossible to eat- €11. Unjustifiable in any situation.

The way that my aunt's allergies were dealt with, as well as the way wines were suggested to her, were unacceptable. If someone has allergies, a good waiter will accomodate, ask questions, and make sure that a great meal is provided, unless the allergies are impossible to deal with. This was not the case. The server had no knowledge of wine, and suggested wines which bore no resemblance to what was requested. Why? Send someone out who has wine knowledge, we won't think less of you for it, I promise!

All in all, I'd recommend that you save yourself some grief. Our bill was €230- I would have gladly used that money to take a taxi into Napoli and have a meal at my favourite restaurant, where two people can eat like kings...

I’ve never been to a more Jekyll and Hyde place, but I think 4 stars is being very generous. Firstly, the place is BEAUTIFUL. One of the most scenic restaurants I’ve been to. The food was amazing and bad at the same time.

Prior to receiving our order, we heard two tables complain about their food being too salty. Sure enough, my food was as well. I got their steak with smoked potatoes. On initial bite both were DELICIOUS, some of the best steak and potatoes I’ve eaten and I’m a huge meat eater. Then the salt kicked in. Way too salty. I don’t understand how they still managed to over salt my food when they had received multiple complaints prior to me even ordering.

The portions were also small and deceitful. I got only 1 baby potato cut in half and 2 small strips of steak. There was also a small portion of mashed potatoes which was more butter than potatoes. I was not a fan of whatever that was. We had ordered octopus linguine to share and I am in no way exaggerating, but there were only 2 slithers of octopus in the entire dish. If you combined them, they were barely 1cm in length. How can they even call that an octopus dish? Again though, delicious and this time not over salted.

Then the service. Upon ordering my steak, he asked me how I would like it cooked and what I would like for a side, vegetables or a salad. Where I’m from that implies that it comes with the side. Nope, they charged 12 euros for that. I felt like I had been wrongfully deceived and told the waiter so and if he could remove that charge. He quickly said don’t worry and that he will fix this. Upon looking at my receipt, he only took out half the charge! What kind of service is that?

Overall the experience was…interesting. If it weren’t for such a beautiful location, I would have given this place 3 stars. Some of the best food I had, minus the over salting. The place was also one of the most deceitful restaurants I have ever visited. I genuinely felt conned. If they listen to their costumers, provide fair portion sizes, and stop deceiving their costumers, it would be a no brainer 5 star restaurant. What a shame.

I also want to add that we did not like our waiter. I don’t remember his name, but he was rushing the entire time. Way too nonchalant and indifferent for a classy place. Random cheap diners have better waiters than him. Worst waiter during all of our almost week long stay at the Amalfi coast. We spoke with another waiter towards the end (I believe Mario, but not certain) and he was extremely kind and helpful. Again,...

Great views, first of all I would like to thank for taking us without a reservation, very much appreciated 🙏 Unfortunately this time I would like to talk about service. Coming from a “restaurant” because that was the answer server Giuseppe gave us when we asked him if he had kids menu for my little brother, on behalf of his answer which it was “this is a restaurant” and “don’t you look at the menu?” when we asked for help because we OF COURSE HAD A MENU, but also needed help. Service wasn’t quite what we expected, as people who comes from a foreign country the first thing we would like is to feel welcomed, unfortunately this server didn’t make that happen. I’ve worked on two of most fine dinning company’s in Miami USA, coming from someone that has worked in this industry for more than 7 years I wasn’t very pleased this time with the whole experience this server provided us, I know all the pro/cons a restaurant can have, but I also know how important service is for costumers experience specially in such a place like Positano, and no matter what situation you’re in, service is a must for all, it HAS to be good. First thing extremely important, I am allergic to shellfish, which server wasn’t aware nor never asked, he brought to the table a Shrimp risotto, I explained to him I was allergic to shellfish unfortunately I couldn’t have it, this time I was not aware they had a shrimp risotto and I was kindly asking for the risotto with local lemon, provole del Monaco cheese and crumbs of pistachios from Brontë, and this server made it seem like I just didn’t want the shrimp risotto after me explaining I am allergic to shellfish a couple of times, however he didn’t even brought the Risotto I asked for and took 20+minutes. By that time my family just wanted to run out of the table, but Antonella came to save our night offering an amazing dessert, since I explained my dislike on the food, she didn’t know about the server which it was definitely what screw up our night/experience since we first came in. By the end of the dinner server Giuseppe came to apologize about the risotto. Antonella’s service was AMAZING and that’s what hospitality is about, was always on top of the table asking if we needed anything or if everything was okay, I am not quite sure what’s her position there but she did an amazing job, Bravo Antonella thank you so very much!! Unfortunately server Giuseppe is still lacking good hospitality service as well as fine dine service, and this is why I wouldn’t...